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Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	33%

Selected Abstracts

Spatial Information: Classification and Applications in Building Design

COMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2002
Tang-Hung Nguyen
Physical properties of building components are usually represented in building data models by their three-dimensional geometry and topology,also called spatial information. While geometric data of building components can be manipulated and managed by a computer-aided design (CAD) interface, their spatial relations (or topological information) are conventionally represented in a manual fashion into data models. The manual data representation, however, is inherently a complex and challenging task due to the wide variety of spatial relationships. Thus, topological information should be classified and modeled in such a way that the required spatial data for a particular design task can be automatically retrieved. This paper attempts to identify and classify various topological information commonly used in building design and construction into more specific categories (e.g., adjacency, connection, containment, separation, and intersection) to support automatic deduction of the spatial information in a computer-based building design system. The paper also discusses typical applications of the topological relations to different design activities. Finally, the development of deduction algorithms and the proposed building design system are briefly described. [source]

Mental disorders as risk factors for substance use, abuse and dependence: results from the 10-year follow-up of the National Comorbidity Survey

ADDICTION, Issue 6 2010
Joel Swendsen
ABSTRACT Aims The comorbidity of mental disorders and substance dependence is well documented, but prospective investigations in community samples are rare. This investigation examines the role of primary mental disorders as risk factors for the later onset of nicotine, alcohol and illicit drug use, abuse and dependence with abuse. Design The National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) was a nationally representative survey of mental and substance disorders in the United States carried out in 1990,92. The NCS-2 re-interviewed a probability subsample of NCS respondents in 2001,03, a decade after the baseline survey. Participants A total of 5001 NCS respondents were re-interviewed in the NCS-2 (87.6% of baseline sample). Results Aggregate analyses demonstrated significant prospective risks posed by baseline mental disorders for the onset of nicotine, alcohol and illicit drug dependence with abuse over the follow-up period. Particularly strong and consistent associations were observed for behavioral disorders and previous substance use conditions, as well as for certain mood and anxiety disorders. Conditional analyses demonstrated that many observed associations were limited to specific categories of use, abuse or dependence, including several mental disorders that were non-significant predictors in the aggregate analyses. Conclusions Many mental disorders are associated with an increased risk of later substance use conditions, but important differences in these associations are observed across the categories of use, abuse and dependence with abuse. These prospective findings have implications for the precision of prevention and treatment strategies targeting substance use disorders. [source]

Survey Conditioning in Self-Reported Mental Health Service Use: Randomized Comparison of Alternative Instrument Formats

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 2 2007
Naihua Duan
Objective. To test the effect of survey conditioning (whether observed survey responses are affected by previous experience in the same survey or similar surveys) in a survey instrument used to assess mental health service use. Data Sources. Primary data collected in the National Latino and Asian American Study, a cross-sectional household survey of Latinos and Asian Americans residing in the United States. Study Design. Study participants are randomly assigned to a Traditional Instrument with an interleafed format placing service use questions after detailed questions on disorders, or a Modified Instrument with an ensemble format screening for service use near the beginning of the survey. We hypothesize the ensemble format to be less susceptible to survey conditioning than the interleafed format. We compare self-reported mental health services use measures (overall, aggregate categories, and specific categories) between recipients of the two instruments, using 2 × 2 ,2 tests and logistic regressions that control for key covariates. Data Collection. In-person computer-assisted interviews, conducted in respondent's preferred language (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog, or Vietnamese). Principal Findings. Higher service use rates are reported with the Modified Instrument than with the Traditional Instrument for all service use measures; odds ratios range from 1.41 to 3.10, all p -values <.001. Results are similar across ethnic groups and insensitive to model specification. Conclusions. Survey conditioning biases downward reported mental health service use when the instrument follows an interleafed format. An ensemble format should be used when it is feasible for measures that are susceptible to survey conditioning. [source]

On the Move: International Migration in Southeast Asia since the 1980s

HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2007
Amarjit Kaur
Migration has been a persistent theme in Southeast Asian labour history and migrants have been either permanent settlers or temporary residents. In the second half of the nineteenth-century migration coincided with European expansion into the region and was linked to economic development and labour market needs. Borders were porous, there was an empire-wide sourcing of labour, and migration regimes were relatively stable. Since the 1980s migration has predominantly comprised intra-Southeast Asian labour flows, is mediated by institutions and involves formal and informal channels. It has resulted in risks for specific categories of migrants and more stringent border controls by the state. Increasing global interdependence nevertheless, has created the conditions for international governance, and consequently, national policies are being shaped by, and respond to, the expanding global governance regime. Crucially, major international organisations such as the United Nations and its ancillary bodies both inform and direct themes in research and directions for policy. [source]

Categorization bases and their influence on product category knowledge structures

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 6 2002
José Antonio Rosa
This study examines the relationship between categorization bases and the persistent use of specific categories in the motorcycle industry. Categorization bases are distinguished from one another and classified based on their distance from embodied experience. The relationship between the different classes that emerge and the number of years that specific category labels remain part of the market conversation is subsequently explored. The fundamental proposition is that categorization bases that are close to embodied experience, such as perceptible properties and affordances, will give rise to shorter-lived categories relative to categorization bases that are further removed from embodied experience, such as historical criteria and scientific authority. Market stories from published sources are content analyzed and coded, and used as sources of industry categories. Analysis reveals that four categorization bases,usage scripts, scientific authority, experiential wholes, and affordances,are associated with greater category persistence in the motorcycle market when used as the primary basis for categorization, whereas perceptible properties, metaphorical creations, and historical criteria were associated with lower-persistence categories. The results were not perfectly aligned with a strict distance-from-embodied-experience argument, and their implications for future research and theory are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Diverse genomic integration of a lentiviral vector developed for the treatment of Wiskott,Aldrich syndrome

THE JOURNAL OF GENE MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009
Julie Mantovani
Abstract Background The genomic integration of a lentiviral vector developed for the treatment of Wiskott,Aldrich syndrome (WAS) was assessed by localizing the vector insertion sites (IS) in a murine model of gene therapy for the disease. Methods Transduced hematopoietic progenitor cells were transplanted into mice or cultured in vitro. The IS were determined in the genomic DNA from blood, the bone marrow of the animals and from cultured cells. Results Sequencing vector,genomic DNA junctions yielded more than 150 IS of which 50,70% were located in transcription units. To obtain additional sequences from the population of cultured cells, we used a vector-tag concatenation technique providing 190 additional IS. Altogether, the profiles confirmed the bias for integration in transcription units. The vector did not congregate as hotspots and did not appear to target specific categories of genes. The diversity of the IS reflected the initial marking of a polyclonal population of cells. However, relatively few vector IS were found in vivo because only 30,40 unique IS were identified in each mouse using this approach. Although four to ten IS were shared by the blood and bone marrow, no common IS was found between mice or between any mouse and the cultured cells. Conclusions Taken as a whole, the pattern of genomic insertion of the WAS lentiviral vector was diverse and similar to that previously described for other HIV-1-derived lentiviral vectors. Testing cells destined for transplantation is unlikely to predict specific IS to be selected in vivo. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]